[h3]Xiao Mei, Asteria, Edward, Lorek, Danny[/h3] [i][b]Exploring Near Crystals and Cave Walls[/b][/i] [@SilverPaw][@Jobst][@Bishop][@Searat][@Duthguy] [hr] As the [u][b]two female rats[/b][/u] finished off their meal, before they left the lizard nest their [u][b]Mother[/b][/u] finally seemed to shake off the result of the mother lizard's poison. She too joined in the feast, quickly slurping up the contents of several eggs with gusto. With their bellies sated and their mother safe, the rats departed to explore the rest of the cave. Watching them curiously, nose twitching, their mother followed a few paces behind. She seemed to be observing them, and let them lead the way without interference, though she kept an eye out for danger. [quote=System:XiaoMei_Asteria] You now have an Ally! Mother Rat has joined your party! [/quote] They soon came across [u][b]Edward[/b][/u], though they didn't yet know his name, staring intently at the Mana Crystals on the wall. As the male rat watched the Crystals, he couldn't really divine anything about them aside from the fact that they didn't seem to be any kind of metal or mineral that he knew of, and they glowed all on their own for some reason. But as three of his own kind approached him--possibly his own relatives--he would find their scents in his nose and what little sound they made on their tiny paws in his ears. Who were they, and what did they want? And that same question would likely apply to and for the two Wisps that came floating closer to the group of rats. As [u][b]Lorek[/b][/u] looked for crystals that the Goblins or other monsters hadn't already taken, he came upon the same cluster that Edward was staring at. He arrived at around the same time as the rats did, but he was floating a couple of feet above them and nearer to the wall. The Dire Rats might not end up being a threat to him, and if he knew that they didn't have any magic of their own he might realize that they probably wouldn't care if he took or used the crystals. Meanwhile, however, [u][b]Danny[/b][/u] was floating along the same rock face, looking for a crack in the wall where he could take shelter away from the reach of most other monsters. He would soon see the odd, black-tinted Wisp coming from the other direction, as well as the four Dire Rats down below, one of whom was a fair bit bigger than the others. [b][[If you're interacting with each other, you don't have to wait for my updates to post as long as it doesn't get spammy. Collab if you'd like, or if you're not interested at all just react as necessary and tell me what other actions you'd like to take in a post.]][/b] [hr] [h3]Asura[/h3] [b][i]Unknown Location[/i] [[Possibly near Mourningstar, Digbie, Oberon, and Orochi? Or Rain and Jason?]][/b] [@Kazemitsu] [quote=System:Asura] Skill Gain: Magic Resistance I! Magic damage from lower level spells is reduced, regardless of its element. Whenever you gain Elemental Resistances, their threshold will be used first before Magic Resistance is activated. Obtaining at least one level of all Elemental Resistances will cause Skill Synergy and automatically increase Magic Resistance by one rank. Į̨ͯͯͪ͗͟͏̩̙̺͓̗͇̭͔͙͎̞͉̭͎̻̰͈Ņ̨̩͓̟͍͖̰̜̣̻̲͈͎̭̏͊̃̇̽̉̈̐ͮ̿ͣ̅ͮ̊̊͡V̴̶̘̫̦̠̥̗̠̓͗ͫ̏ͥ̏ͮ̓̊ͥ̀̉ͪͦ͘͞A̢̨̫͕̪̲̒ͪ͐̒̎ͣ͋̐ͤ͞͞L̶̶̘̙̞̠͇͍̹̬̗̱̫̭̘͊̏̍͋͑̅͋͆̈͊͐̏͋̆I͚̫̻͔̜̙̫̰̖̬̍̇̆ͯ͆̆̌̈̄͊ͭ̑͌̓ͯͭ̀̀̚̚D̛̬̼̘̦̞̟͍̭̻̰̮̰̹̦̪̝ͯ̔ͬ̔ͯͬ̇ͦ́̓ͨ́͞͝͞ ̸̎ͫ̈́͆̉̐͐͒ͤ̅̄ͯ̓ͣͤ̍̓͌̚҉̜̗̥̞̫̞̪̪̳̭̲Ć̸̡̨̨͖͈̯̞̝̮̱̹̪̲͎ͩ̆ͯ̋͊͗̂ͫ̃̓̓̔̈͟O̵̟̘̩̖͎͓͉̩̭̯̪̤̺̞̬ͯͣ͗͗̕M̅̒ͣ͒̈́̒ͮ̐҉̭͉͔̗͖̬͙̪̖͝M̡̡͓̞̱̲̻̠̜̖̫̹͇̤͉͗͌ͬ̄̇ͫ̐͑̅͆͌̌̈́͜ͅͅA̷̧̼̯̰ͫ͋ͤ̓ͮ͋̒̂ͮ́̕ͅN̷͎̦͈̙͔̳͚̮̗̥̘͚̩̙̼͒͂̂̌ͬ̒̏̂̽͊̾̉͗́͡D̢̡͕̫̭̼̱̱̄̾ͩ̒̉͞ [/quote] As Asura attempted to call up some sort of menu like he had seen in his games, a sudden screeching like static on a TV turned up too loud combined with feedback on a microphone combined with dial-up internet, and a rippling pain throughout Asura’s entire being, or “mind,” considering he didn’t have a separate head or brain. Consuming the two Healing Herbs helped him feel better, but from the dull pains all over his membrane he could tell he wasn’t at Full HP yet either. And that Pierce Resistance Skill hadn’t popped up either, despite being at a full rank instead of a decimal... [hr] [h3]Jason, Rain[/h3] [i][b]The Hole in the Wall[/b][/i] [hr] Just as [u][b]Rain[/b][/u] was getting comfy in her hiding spot and thought she might start to rest for the night, a strange series of sounds came to her as muffled noises and slight vibrations through the wall. Was that the same slime she had helped earlier, digging away again towards whatever it was he had found? Indeed it was. As [u][b]Jason[/b][/u] continued his efforts, a sudden notice interrupted him. [quote=System:Jason] You have learned a new Skill! Skill Gain: Tremor Sense I You can feel vibrations through the earth within a 30 foot radius or so around you, whether they be footsteps, tunneling creatures, etc. You have already learned through your previous experimentation that you can also produce these vibrations to a very limited degree.[/quote] And just like that, he suddenly had a more complete picture of his surroundings. As in monochrome he saw the vibration traveling outward from his body, and when it entered the solid black earth, distinct shapes and lines and layers became shades of gray...and then, he saw it. An open chamber in the rock, evidenced by all the gray around it and then nothing but solid black in a roughly circular shape. With this information his digging became more efficient, now that he knew where to go. He suddenly broke through the last bit of dirt, showering himself in dust and soil, and found himself facing something brand new. On this side of the chamber, he could see that blue veins of something--like the Mana Crystals, but a bit smoother, as if it were some sort of actual ore rather than just the crystalline clusters--ran across the rocks in chaotic, vein-like circuits. And where they converged, a crystal roughly two or three times the size of a normal Mana Crystal sprouted from the earth. It looked harder, too, more stable, with many facets like a cut gemstone. It also seemed...deeper. It was only about a foot or so in diameter, but when you looked through one of its many surfaces it seemed like you were looking into a deep tank of water, growing darker and darker until it became pitch black. Also, unlike the mana crystals, this one was a [color=green]deep emerald green.[/color] But there was one more thing Jason saw as he looked through the crystal. The rocks on the other side, of course. [quote=System:Jason] MATTER. SOLID. MINERAL. ROCK. STONE. IGNEOUS. GRANITE. LAYER. WALL. EARTH. Č͌ͯͩRͨ̉̊ͮ̂̑̿͏͉͕̺̺̩Ů̹͚̠͕̀S͕̠͇ͅṮ̺̼͚̻̪̘͂ͣ̑̊̉.̷͐͐́̌̄ ͫͨ̾̃ M̨̻̰̦͉̲ͪ̈́̅̉̋À͍͊Ñ̨̤̜̘͎̖͔̖͕̇͋T̴͓̲̑̌̍̓̃̆̾̋L̢̫̰̝̬̖̗̪̼̓ͬ̀E̛͕͚̒͊͢͝.̜͖̹͚̳͍ͯͬ͐̎̌ ̛̈́҉͏̮̙͉̤̺T̡̗̮̿͑̂̏͢Ė̹̭̭̾͌̊ͣ̀̕͢C̟̤̟̻͈̠̎̉͝T̩̥̆̎ͩ̅ͥ̍͐͒͟O̸͎̟͉̯̫ͣ͆͋͝N̶̖̠̗̬̤̥͙̩̓ͭ̆͊͂́͟I̶͂͒̐ͩ͆͝͏̩̩͇͔C̦̪͖̼̪ͫ̍̏͑ͧ̍͜ ̷̧̬̻̞̬̦̣̲͛̈́͛̋̈̚͝P̵̷̨͙̫͎̀͗ͅĻ͍̭̿ͮA̱̯̫̼͔ͨ̏ͯ̕T͎͓̻͔̯̺̼̻̈ͥ̔ͨ̌̄ͥͮ͘E̡̞̪̪̳̾̿̌ͤ̈́ͬ́́.̶̬̖̟̫̻͖̞͔̉͛͆ͮͥͪ̀ͅ ̢̡̤͚̻̪̗̜̪͎̿͐̎ͪ̕ Cͣ̓́͆̂ͣ̈́̆̇̂̈́͒̕҉̴̡̰̻͚̦͚̝͈̤̣Ơ̶̢͇͎̜͎͚̐ͬͪͩͬ̑̀͋ͫͦ̇̿̃̏̈́ͪͥN̴̞͇̙͓̩̱͇͍̰̳̣̻̲ͣͫ̀͋͟͜Ţ̞̺͇̰̗̝̯ͫ̎͌̅̓̀͢I̤̫̖͔̼͚̗͙̥̞̫͉̞ͬ̃͐͗ͧͪͨ̂̿ͫ͗͢͠Ņ̨̲͓̰̬͎̠̯͔̰̤͈̯̒ͦ̒ͣ͂ͣ̀͜Ë̷̸̢̹͖̫̰̦̳͎̫̞͈͇́̍̀̐͂̆́͝N̒̇̄̏̉̂ͮ̇͏̸̴̢͓̬̝̪̳͢T̛͎̞̗̖͚̩͎̙̪̳̙ͥͩ͛ͤͥ̆ͨͫ͒̐͋̍͂̓͗ͨ͆͠ͅ.̂̋ͥ̍̂ͣͦ̋͡͏̵̨̼͓͕̝̯̠͓͇̠̹̣ ̴̠̫̜͖̺͍̳̥̲̘̾̏͋̓̏͒̈̀͠W̸̝̗̠͖̗̗̞̮̪̹̞͓̱̭̠̣͒̌ͨO͎̝̗͕̪̭̗̘̬̘̗̱͔͑ͯ̿̊̀̎̑̽̉̾̑͌̌́̚͡͞R̡̢̥̬̼̮̬̳̯͙̤̜ͤͣ͌͑ͥ͝L̢̢̦̥͔̗̯͍̿́̎͊̾̕͢D̢̡̨̖̻̼̗͕͒̏̀̔͆ͣ̂̍̊̃̒̊͑͗̂.̨̧̂͗̅͋̽̓ͤ̓͗́̓̄ͮ̊ͯ͏̡͏̟͙̰̠̝̳͔̠̤̗̟͕̤̤̦̖̦̘ ̸̵̦̯̫̲͉̖̽̄̽̇̊̑͛͛ͬͯͪ̀ͬ͗̀́͝P̸̴̧̢̜̻̤̻̬̳̭͚͚̦̖̟̠̲̪ͦͫͯ̐̾͊̉ͦ͗͝Ļ̶͓̙̬̗͈̙̣͋ͭ̈́ͣ̽ͫ̔̂ͨͣ̋ͬ͂͐͜͢A̸̸͎̠͈̰̭̅̆͊ͮ̔ͯ̔̊͆̓̿ͮ̇͂̔ͯ͒̓̀̚N̡͕̥̬̺̘̻͕͇ͪ̇ͯ̎̆̓ͦͪ͌̉͆ͥ̒ͯͪ̇̃͘͝ͅḘ̵̢̘̣̹̟͉̩̘̯̙͕̻̺̗ͣ̊̑ͫͣ̈ͯ͒͊͋͗ͬͪ͐̎̚͘Tͫ̓̋ͯ̀̿ͮ͆ͮ̿̓̃̈ͥ̋ͥ͂҉̸͏̵̯̪͇͉͜.̢̛̲̞̥̩͚̹̼ͪ̿̋̊̎ͤ̈͑̂̇̾́ͭ̋̉̔̕͞ ͓̣̣͚̱̘̘̭̲̬̱̬͖̜̖͉͉̜́ͨ͌́ͯ̒͠ [/quote] Jason suddenly felt as if the entire rock wall was pressing down on him from all sides, crushing him to the density of a neutron star, and at the same time something was ripping apart his mind in every direction, pulling at him until his sense of self threatened to stop existing. It was like opening your eyes right after waking up, and having a bright light thrust into your face before you could adjust. At the same time it was like being in a room with a thousand people all carrying on different conversations and all at different pitches and volumes. At the same time it was like listening to a TV on static that had been turned up to loud and a microphone on a feedback loop and dial-up internet. Ą̹̜̼͆͗̂ͭ͂t̴ͣ̓̀̉ͨ ͬͩ̾͆ͤͣ̂͏͓̠̣͉̝ͅṱ̿́ͨ̂ḩ̠̟̳͓͋ͤͪ͋̒ͪe̫̠͕͘ ̤̠̫̼̏̐̂ͪ͆͝ͅs̟̟̜̝̯̯̑̅̔̾͡aͧͨ̊͒̇̓̊m͚͇̍e͎͚͓̯̖͉̋̾̑̚ͅ ̯̲͊̋͛ͬͥ͟t͇̠͚̂͆͛̒̈ĩ͉̫̝̼̟̮͂ͦͧ̀m̺̳͇̠ͪ̒͋͢ͅe̴̘̾ ͖̻͙̭̖̏̊ͧͩḯ̏̚͏̩t̰̙̞̪̫̲ͅ ͈̗̰̯̻̖̒͊͗̄͗͌̋w͕̗̘̗̪͉̰̾ͮ̒̈̉̾a͕̲̘̜͇͡s̘̆ͩ̏ͤͪͣ́ ͈̬̥͕ͭ....... It finally stopped, though Jason found himself somewhat puddled upon the ground as if he had been unconscious. Now, what to do with this..."treasure?" [hr] [h3]Orchid, Ash[/h3] [i][b]On the Hunt[/b][/i] [@Rune_Alchemist][@Lucius Cypher] [hr] As Orchid skinned, dissected, and then made use of the Dire Rat, she was soon left with a few notable items. [quote=System:Orchid] 1 Raw Dire Rat Hide in Inventory. This Item may rot if not preserved. 2 Dire Rat Fangs in Inventory. This Item can not be used as a weapon by itself due to the size difference. 4 Dire Rat Bones in Inventory. This Item is a Material. [/quote] Eating the poisoned meat, meanwhile, did not seem to affect Ash in any negative way. She felt some stamina returning, though also now that she had a full belly her instincts told her it might be a good idea to find a place to rest. For the moment though, there was still time to help Orchid find something for herself. [b][[Please continue in your collaboration post and consult with me as necessary, thanks!]][/b] [hr] [h3]Digbie, Mourningstar, Oberon, Orochi[/h3] The First True Party!? [@King Cosmos][@CriticalHit][@Gardevoiran][@floodtalon] [hr] As [u][b]Mourningstar[/b][/u] tried to analyze the corpse of the Wisp, she got a definite result--just perhaps not quite what she was hoping for. [quote=System:Mourningstar] You used Magic Analysis I! Magic Analysis I had its effectiveness reduced by 50%. This is a Monster. Wisps are magically oriented monsters. This Wisp possesses three Spells. [/quote] As she tried to shape her mana, she could tell that there was definitely potential here, but as it was she just couldn't seem to get the shapes to remain stable. Maybe she needed more practice, or to pour more mana into it. But to do that would require more crystals, which seemed to be getting scarce. Oberon approached her as she practiced, curious about what she was doing. His results were similar to Mourningstar's own experiment, but perhaps slightly more useful as he stayed and watched her until the end of her tests. [quote=System:Oberon] You used Magic Analysis I! Magic Analysis has had its effectiveness reduced by 75%. This is a Monster using Magic. Wisps are magically oriented monsters. This Wisp possesses three spells and one magic oriented skill. This Wisp possesses the magically oriented skill Magic Analysis at Rank I. This Wisp is attempting to cast ????? Mana (Unknown Skill). [/quote] Meanwhile as Ryuu, or now [u][b]Orochi[/b][/u], tried to use his Scribe skill, he had much less success. Or none at all, rather. [quote=System:Orochi] You have no Spells to Scribe. [/quote] Digbie too, made use of some of his skills, but these were not the capital S skills of this world, merely his own abilities at digging. By the time he had finished he had worked out quite the tunnel into the wall, enlarging the already somewhat enlarged crevice into something that could have easily been used as a sort of shelter. It was only walled in on two sides, but if he bothered to shore up the dirt he had been digging out into a ramparts of sorts around it, he might have just made a little base camp for his party. Or at least a hole they could sleep in. [b][[If you're interacting with each other, you don't have to wait for my updates to post as long as it doesn't get spammy. Collab if you'd like, or if you're not interested at all just react as necessary and tell me what other actions you'd like to take in a post.]][/b] [hr] [h3]Ardur[/h3] [i][b]A Pixie to the Bonfire[/b][/i] [@ReusableSword] [hr] "Dey calls me dat, cause when I grabs ya by da head I makes ya skull rattle!" boomed the boss as Ardur continued to flit about stealthily--however, the much bigger monster now seemed to be turning his head in the right direction, and his eyes were darting this way and that. "What? Qweschurn?" “If you are the biggest and baddest here. Why do you stay? You won’t grow stronger if you stay here. You will never truly be mighty if you stay in this place. So why stay?” "Cause it's my cave!" Rattleskull boomed, slamming one big fist into his chest. He turned and this time caught Ardur's movement, just not his shape or features. "Dis my home! Ain't nobody gonna take it from me! I'm gonna rule it!" “Are you afraid? Are you a coward? To hide in fear against whatever might be stronger than you outside?” "No! You dumb!" Rattleskull spat on the floor. "When I takes over da whole cave, I starts on the outside! Dat's cause I'm smart!" “There’s a storm coming, Skull. When it comes, you have a choice. You can run and hide from the winds and rain or try to stay and whether the storm. But you will find that your numbers will continue to diminish the longer you stay here.” "Now you REALLY dumb!" Rattleskull laughed. "Can't rain inside caves, idiot!" Satisfied with his absolute domination of his weakminded adversary in the sophisticated field of academic debate, Rattleskull turned on his heel and started ambling towards the bonfire with a renewed sense of vigor.